Lucknow: Chief Minister, Yogi Adityanath, who took over the reins of the state recently seems to be taking the health manifesto promises of the BJP in the state seriously. Addressing a press conference on Wednesday, Yogi Adityanath announced that the King George’s Medical University (KGMU) will soon be upgraded into a state university and also get the status of AIIMS.

The state university status will give the university an affiliation advantage with other medical and dental institutions. The granting of the AIIMS status, would mean an addition of super specialty departments, increased foreign research collaborations and better healthcare facilities.

Speaking about the six AIIMS planned by Prime Minister Modi and the BJP President, Amit Shah in the state of Uttar Pradesh, the Chief Minister said, he would ask the Medical Education Minister, Ashutosh Tandon to prepare a KGMU proposal to be tabled in the Assembly.

“In next five years, 25 new medical colleges will be set up in the state by upgrading a few hospitals and constructing some at places where there are none,” said the CM.

“But the challenge is to get enough faculty,” he said . The CM urged his ministers, to have all vacancies filled in an year’s time, so that the MCI’s de recognition axe does not fall on medical colleges. Yogi ji promised to implement all the schemes mentioned in the party manifesto. He requested doctors to introduce technological innovations in the various medical hubs, in order to benefit patients.

He reminded medical practitioners to sign annual maintenance contracts for new equipment purchased by them, to make sure that they run smoothly for a 5 year period without running into errors.

He also had a word of caution for research scientists, saying that all research conducted at medical institutes should not be based on old findings.

“To upgrade services we have started eight super-specialty departments in BRD Medical College and got money from the central government for the same,” the CM revealed. He also raised the two prominent issues facing the state, those of the Japanese encephalitis and acute encephalitis syndrome (AES).

“Deaths have taken place in eastern UP from JE. In 2005, vaccine came for JE but the new disease AES was detected. Till date there is no vaccine,” he added, “We need to educate people on cleanliness, as it can save them from several diseases,” yogi Adityanath told HT.